Mail-bag-delivering apparatus.



F. H. HOUGLAND. HAIL BAG DELIVBEING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 28,1908.

Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

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n H. HOUGLAND. MAIL BAG DELIVERING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED BBPT.28,1908.

91 5,439. Patented Mar. 16, 1909.

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UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEErcE.

FRANK H. HOUGIJAND, OF ST, LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO ISADORE SELIGSTEIN, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

MAIL-BAG-DELIVERING APPARATUS.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 28, 1908.

Patented March 16, 1909.

Serial No. 455,187.

To all whom lit may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK H. HOUGLAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Mail-Bag-Delivering Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompan ing drawings, forming a part hereof, in w lich- Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a Jortion of a mail-car equipped with my mail-bag delivering apparatus, showing the mail-bag delivering apparatus in position just prior to delivering a mail-bag therefrom; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, showing in detail a portion of the sliding fender or chute and the relcasable holding-device therefor; Fie. 3 is a sectional view of the bagsupporting rame, shfwing the sliding fender or chute in raised or inoperative position; Fig. 4 is a similar view, showing the sliding fender or chute in lowered or operative position; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail sectional view of the lower portion of the bagsupporting frame and fender; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary View in horizontal section of the car body, showing in top lan the mail-bag delivering apparatus in ful lines in operative 01 effective position to deliver a bag and in dotted lines its position when within the can, Fi 7 is an enlarged detail view of the releasab e grapple for holding the mail-bag; and Fig. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the linc 8---S, Fig. 1.

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in mail-bag delivering appara-- tus, the object being to provide an apparatus of the kind described which will deliver mail-bags from a movingA train without damage or injury to the nudi-bags or to persons or objects along the right-of-way.

W ith this object in view, my invention rcsides in the novel means wl'reroby the mailbags are delivered from the car toward the rear thereof or in a direction opposite to that in which thc car is moving and comparatively gontly delivered or laid upon thc ground or station-platform, and in the novcl construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts, all as will hereinafter be described and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the body of an ordinary mail-car, which is provided with the usual side-door ol'iening 2. My mail-bag delivering apparatus is preferably mounted on a main frame consistlng of a post S pivotally mounted in said door-openmg 2 adjacent to one side thereof, upper and lower cross-members 4 and 5, respectively, extending from said post 3, and upright member G connected to said cross-members 4 and 5 at their outer ends. Supported by or upon said cross-members 4 and 5 is a second rectangular or mail-bag supporting frame 7. The lower portion of frame 7 is provided with brackets 8, which fit on said lower crossmember 5 of said main frame, and the upper portion of frame 7 is suspended from the upper cross-member 4 of said main frame by links or hooks 9. By this arrangement, the frame 7 is held in an inclined or slanting position toward the rear of the car when the car is moving forwardly and the bag-delivering apparatus is in position to deliver a bag therefrom, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. Secured or mounted on said frame 7 is a bagsupporting plate or board 10, this board or plate 10 being secured on said frame 7 in any convenient manner, but preferably by riveting the same to lugs or projections 7a provided therefor o'n said frame 7. Slidably mounted on the under side of said plate 10 is a fender or chute 11. Preferably this fender 11 has a slot-and- )in connection with said ilate 10 and is a apted to be held in raise or inoperative posltion by a chain or other flexible holding means 12. A in 13 o1' other suitable catch is provided on tiie u )per cross member 7b of frame 7, over or by winch said chain or other holding means may be secured or attached for holding said fender or chute in raised position. The lower portion of this fender 11 is curved outwardly, as at 14, and when the fender is in lowered or operative position, this curved portion 14 is adapted to extend some little distance on a plane substantially horizontal or parallel with the bottom of the car or with the roadway or statioli-platform, for purposes hereinafter stated.

Mounted on the upper cross member 7" of frame 7 is a bag-grap le comprising a stationary or fixed mem er 15 and a pivotcd member In, which latter member is yielding-ly held in closed position, relative to said member 15, by aspx-ing 17. 'lhepivoted member 16 has an extension or tail-plece 18, which is adapted to be actuated by a tappet-lever 19 pivotally mounted on a bracket 2() iixed on the Cross-member 7 ot l'ranie T. end of said lever Il) is supported. by and has lnoveineint on a slotted brarfliet 21, whirh is lixedl)l mounted on the opposite side ol' said cross-member T" ol' frame T, see particularly Fig. 1, and, as will be obvious the slotted portion 22 olI said braeliet 21. limits the slid nig movement ol` said lever lllA 23 indicates au extension whieh is hingedly mounted by a rule-joint 21 on the outer end of lever 1l). By this arrangement, the eX- tension 23 is Vpermitted to swing rear ardly or in one direction only and is resiliently held in extended or open. position by a lealE spring 25, this spring being stronger than. the. spring 1T, for purposes` hereinafter apiearing. fhen the apparatus is swung out lroni the ear into operative or eileetive position to deliverl a bag therefrom, the extension member 23 is adapted to eontaet with a projection or arin 26 on a post 27 erected at the side of the right-of-way.

The operation of my apparatus as follows. blornially the apparatus Carried within the ear, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, until sueh time as it is desired to deliver a bag therefrom. Now when it desired to deliver a bag froni the ear, a bag X is placed on the supporting-plate 1() and held in position thereon by the grapple nienibers 15 and 16. The main frame is now swung outwardly until it extends at substantially right angles to the ear, as shown in i`ull lines in Fig. 6, in whieh position the frame is prevented from swinging rearwardly by the stop 28 on post 3 contacting with a wearplate 29 on the side of the ear and in whirh position the bag-supporting frame 7 is pri1w sented in an inclined or slanting position toward the rear of the ear. Just prior to the point or place at which it is desired to deliver a bag X, the operator releases chain 12 from pin 13, and the fender or ehute l 1, being thus released, will drop by gravity to its lowernlost or operative position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, 1n which position the lower end 14 of said fender or chute 11 is adapted to be slightly above and extend for a short distance on a lane substantially horizontal or parallel with the road-bed. or the usual regulation statio11plati`oi1ri. As soon as the eX- tension 23 contacts with arrn 26 on post 27, the tap et or tripping-lever 19 is swung rearwardly until arrested by the rear end of slot 22 of the braeket 21, when the extension 23 will yield, through spring 25, to permit the same to pass said arni 26 without dainaging or injuring the apparatus, and in this rearward movement of lever 1.9/ lever 1Q aetuates the pivoted grapplearm 16, through its extension 18, whereby the mailbag X Will be released and at once fall by gravity down the inclined supporting-plate 10 and fender 11. Now, due to the peculiar 'lhe outer i l'orin oll fender or chute 11, the momentum ol' said bagr in falling will be retarded by the eurvod olif-set portion Il thereof, and thus, as the train is moving in the usual l'orvard dirertion and as the end 111 of the lender or ehute 1l, when said lender is in operative position, is presented toward or lares the rear ol' the ear and extends slightly above but on a plane substantially hori/.ontal or parallel with the road-bed or station-platl'orm, it is obvious that the bag will be delivered from the ear toward the rear thereol' or in a direetion opposite to that in whiih the ear is moving and eoiuparat'ively gently delivered or laid upon the ground, the fender or ehute 11 being, as it might he said, pulled l'rom under the bag X when the saine on the end portion 14. And as the rear or bottoni of said bag X will naturally, in falling, strike the ground or platform iirst, and as the bag has also but a eoinparatively short dis tance to fall from said fender to the ground or station-platform, there will be but very little, if any, roll or other movement of the bag when the saine on the ground or sta tion-platform, the bag being thus delivered upon the ground or station-platforin without damage or injury thereto or to any person or other object on the ground or station-platform. After said bag X has been thus delivered, the operator merely raises the fender or chute 11 by means oli' said. ehain 12, secures the saine in raised or inoperative position by fastening said eliain 12 to pin 1Il, and swings the apparatus Vinside the er, ready to deliver a seeond bag, and so on.

Vrlhile I have herein shown and deseribed the lever 19 as contacting with a post or arm at the side of the right-of-way and automatically operating to release a bag X, it is obvious that such post or arm might be done away with and the bag-gra )ple tripped by the hand of the operator witlnn the ear; and it is also obvious that other rhanges in the arrangement, eonstruetion, and Combination of the several parts of my apparatus may he made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the nature and principle of niy invention. And it is further plain that while l have herein shown and deseribed iny a iparatus in connection with delivering mai -bags, the saine can be used equally as well for delivering other articles or packages.

Having thus described iny invention, what l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A inail-bag delivering apparatus oom- )rising an extensible chute, said apparatus c.sing .adapted te be reevebly mounted upon a ear and to deliver a bag from said ear toward the rear thereof; substantially as described.

2. A mail-bag delivering apparatus adapted to be movably mounted on a vehicle and comprising a chute whose lower end extends substmitially horizontal with the plane upon which. the bag is to be delivered.; substantially as described.

3. A mail-bag delivering apparatus adapted to be movably mounted on a vehicle and comprising a chute whose lower end is curved outwardly and adapted to extend substantially horizontal with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered; substantially as described.

et. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a supporting traine adapted to be movably mounted on a vehicle, of a chute, and means for releasal'ily holding a inail-bag thereon suhstanti ally as described.

5. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a supporting-frame adapted to be movably mounted on a ear, of a chute adapted to be mounted on said frame, means for releasahly holding a mail-bag on said chute, and .means for automatically aetuating said holding means to release said bag; substantially as described.

(i. A mail-bag delivering apparatus coni.- prising a frame for supporting the mail-bag and adapted to be movably mounted on a vehicle and an extensible chute mounted in operative relation to said frame; substantially as deseribed.

7. A mail-bag delivering apparatus oomprising a supporting-lrame and an extensible chute mounted in operative relation to said frame, the lower end of said Chute being curved outwardly and adapted to extend substantially horizontal with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered; substantially as described.

ln a inail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a frame for suppijirting a mail-bag, ol' means for releasably holding a bag thereon, and a ehute slidably mounted in operative relation to said trame; substantially as described.

9. ln a inail-bagl delivering apparatus, the combination with a frame lor supporting a inail-bag, ol' means for releasably holding a bag thereon, and a ehute slidably mounted in operative relation to said frame, the lower end of said chute being curved outwardly; substantially as described.

10. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the eombin ation with a frame for supporting a mail-bag, ei means l'or releasably holding a bag thereon, a chute slidably mounted in operative relation to said trame, the lower end ol' said chute being curved outwardly, and means for automatically aetuating said holding-means to release said Jag; substantially as described.

11. 1n a mail-bag delivering apparatus,

the Combination with a frame for supporting a mail-bag, of ,means for relmrsably holding a bag thereon, and a chute slidably mounted in operative relation to said frame, the lower end of said chute being curved outwardly and, when said chute is in operative position to deliver a bag, being adjacent to and substantially horizontal with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered; substantially as described.

12. In a mail-bag delivering a pemtus, the combination with an inclined rame for supporting a mail-bag, of means for releasably holding a bag thereon, a chute slidably mounted on said frame, means for releasably holding said chute in raised position on said frame, and means for guiding said ehute into operative position when said holding means therefor is released; substantially as described.

13. In a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with an inclined trame for su porting a mail-bag, ol means for releasably holding a bag thereon, a chute slidably mounted on said frame, the lower end of said chute being curved outwardly, means for releasably holding said chute in raised inoperative position, and means for guiding said chute into operative position when said holding means therefor is released, said lower end of said chu te, when said chute is in operative position, being adjacent to and substantiallyr orizontal with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered; substantially as described.

14. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a pivotally mounted main-frame, of a hav-supporting frame mounted on said main-(trame, means for roleasably holding a bag on said bag-supporting frame, and a chute slidably mounted on said bag-supporting frame; substantially as described.

15. In a mail-bag deliverin apparatus, the combination with a pivota ly mounted main-frame, of a bag-supporting frame obliquely mounted on said main-frame, means for releasably holding a bag on said bagsupporting-frame, and a chute slidably mounted on said bag-supporting frame, the lower end of said chute being curved outwardly and extending substantially horizontal with the plane upon whieh the bag is to be delivered; substantially as described.

16; In a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a pivotally mounted main-frame, of a bag-supporting frame obliquely mounted on said main-frame, means for releasably holding a bag on said bagsupporting frame, and an extensible chute mounted on said bag-supporting frame, the end of said chute being curved outwardly and, when said chute is in extended position, being adjacent to and substantially horizontel with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered 5 substantially as described.

I7. In a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a pivotally mounted main-frame, of a bag-supporting frame obliquely mounted on said main-frame, means for releasably holdinga ban' on said bagsu pportin g l'rame, an extensible chute mounted on said bag-supporting frame, the lower end ol said ehute beinpr curved outwardly and, when said Chute is in extended position, being adjacent to and substantially horizontal with the plane upon which the bag is to be delivered, and moans for automatically actuating` said bag-holding means to release said bag; substantially as described.

1S. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a bag -supporting frame, of a grapple i'or releasably supporting a bag thereon, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame tor actuating said grapple to release said bag7 and an extensible ohute mounted in operative relation to said frame; substantially as described.

19. ln a mail-btu; delivering apparatus, the combination with a bagsup orting frame, ol.'I a grapple for releasabl",T ho ding a bag thereon, a lever pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted to open said grap le to release said bag, means for automatica l v actuating said lever, and a chute mounted in operative relation to said frame; substantially as described.

2t). ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the Combination with a main-frame adapted to be pivotally mounted on a ear, of a second frame mounted on said main frame and adapted to support a mail-bag, a grapple for releasablv holdingr a bag on said seeond frame, a pivotally mounted lever adapted to cooperate with said grapple to release said bag, and a ehute slidably mounted. in operative relation to said second frame; substantially as described.

21. In a mail-bag delivering apparatus,.

the combination with a frame for supporting a mail-bag, olI means for releasably holding a bag thereon, a ehute slidablr mounted on said frame, and means for normallyT holding said chute in raised inoperative position; substautiall)v as described.

22. ln a mail-bag delivering apparatus, the mmbiuation with a frame for supporting a mail-bag, of means for releasabl)r holding a bag thereon, a Chute slidablT mounted on said l'rame and having its lower end curved outwardly, means for rt-.lleasablyY holding said Chute in raised inoperative position, and means for regulating the downward movement ol' said chute into lowered operative p-.isition7 the lower end ot said Chute when in suoli operative position being adjacent to and substantiallyv horizmntal with the plane upon which the bag;r is to be delivered; substantiallyT as described.

23. ln a mail-bag,r delivering apparatus, the eonibin ation with a bag-supporting frame movablv mounted upon a ear, of means for releasabl)Y holding a bag on said frame, and an extensible chute mounted in operative relation to said frame, said frame and said chute being,r adapted to l'aee the rear of said ear when delivering' a bag therefrom; substantially described.

24. In a mail-bag,r deliveringapparatus, the combination with a bag-supporting: frame pivotallv mounted upon a ear, ol' means for releasablyr holding a bag on said frame, and an extensible chute mounted in operative relation to said. frame and havingy its lower end eurved outwardly, said frame and said chute beingl adapted to face the rear ol' said ear when delivering' a bag therefrom; substantiall)T as described.

25. In a mail-bag delivering: apparatus, the combination with a befr-sup'porting; l' ame ivotallv mounted upon a oar, of means l'or releasablv holding a bag on said frame, means for automatieally aetuatiir;r said means to release said bag, and a Chute slidablyr mounted on said frame and having its lower end curved outwardly, said frame and said chute being adapted to faire the rear oi said ear when delivering a bag therefrom; substantially as described.

26. lin a mail-bag" deliveringapparatus, the combination with a main frame pivotally mounted upon a ear, ol' a begr-supporting` frame obliquelv mounted upon said main frame, means for releasably holding a bagr on said bag-suimorti1i;`r frame, a chute slidablv mounted on said bag-suppmtingr l'rame and having its lower end eurved outwardly, means for releasabl)P holding said ehute in raised inoperative position, said chute being adapted to move downwardly on the release of said holding means therefor into operative position, and means for regulatingl the downward movement ot said eh'ute into nierative position, the lower end of said chute when in sueh operative position being adapted to be adjacent to and substantiall)Y horizontal with the plane upon which said bag is to be delivered and said luftig-supporting l'rame and said Chute being' adapted to l'aee tluI rear of said oar when delivering a ban;r therefrom, substantially as described.

37. ln a mail-bag delivering;l apparatus, the combination with a supp()rting-lrame, of a bag supptntingar plate adapted to be mounted thereon, means l'or releasablhv holding a mail-bag on said supporting-plate, and a ehute mounted in operative relation to said supporting-plate and on which said bag is adapted to slide when released from said holdingv means, substantiall)Y as described.

28. ln a mail-bau' delivering apparatus, the combination with a supp(ating-frame, ot a bag' suiimorting plate adapted to be mounted thereon, means for releasabl)r holding' a mail-bag' on said supporting-plate, means for automatically aotuatine; said holding-means to release said bag, and a ehute mounted in operative relation to said supllt) porting plate and on which said beg is ada ted to slide when released from said holcing-lneens; substantially as described.

29. In a inail-bag delivering apparatus, the combination with a supporting-frame, of a bag supporting plete adapted to be mounted thereon, Ineens for releasably holding a mail-bag on said supporting-plate, and a chute mounted in operative relation to said supporting-plete and having its lower end curved outwardly, Seid bag being adapted to slide on and be delivered from said chute when released from said holding-means substentielly es described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name te this speeiieation in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FRANK H. HOUGLAND.

Witnesses:

EDGAR W. JACOBS, OARREL F. RHODES. 

